Our last issue dealt with the topic wealth creation on Facebook. In this issue we are going to talk about Facebook marketing and Facebook Groups for your online business.
The Groups feature has recently been improved making it a lot easier to navigate. As a strong point, the Facebook Group Application can not be used for professional purposes in order to build a target market. A Group can be kept hidden from other Facebook users in case the moderator chooses to do so. The Groups feature of Facebook allows the members of that group to interact with one another through several discussions as well as post links, photos and even documents.
While the Groups feature has its share of strengths, it also has some limitations when compared to Fan and Business pages on Facebook. In order to work around this limitation, companies can either have an employee open a personal account and then take control of their Facebook promotion efforts or be very careful who they choose as contacts in their business page. Even the business owner can do this right away.
Let’s quickly check out a few ways to apply social media management and using the Facebook Group Application to your advantage:
- As Connection to other Industry Figures
Whichever industry you fit in with, a strong conversation on the key points and issues of the community is one way to develop your reputation whether through official forums or through informal discussions in a medium like Facebook. Though one might argue that you are indeed talking to competition, it is unwise to scrimp on ideas as this is one way to make a buzz in the community. So don’t be afraid to share and moderate a closed or open discussion (whichever you prefer) with other internet marketers. You might just harvest some advantages you wouldn’t have had otherwise.
- As a Support Group
Do you have many doubts concerning marketing campaigns and other elements of operating a home business? In case you need to discuss some internal issues with the admin, how do you go about it? With Facebook for Business, you can quickly do this with as much openness or privacy as you want.Employees will appreciate the written support and this will help them feel like they’re not alone in resolving the problem. You and your team will also be able to publish some accomplishments at the wall and who knows? This might even turn out to be a motivation for everyone.
- As a Call for Corporate Social Responsibility
Are you getting ready for a fundraising activity? Or what if you want to connect with the charity or advocacy group that you’re organization is involved in? Facebook will give your efforts a strong sense of accountability. Not only that, it will also help you become more organized should there be a need for some volunteers from your team. If you decide to make it an open discussion, then even customers and other companies can get involved.
As A Way To Keep Up With Staff Members Regular interaction among the employees is an essential aspect of any business. All businesses must be able to communicate with everyone in the team quickly and easily. For any issue that needs to be discussed within a staff, Facebook makes this possible without too much hassle or preparation such as having to hold a meeting. There are live chats, posts and photo updates so that workers from outside feel like they’re still under the company umbrella no matter where they go.
Make sure you look for your next issue soon. We are going to talk about the right way to interact with you Facebook friends & fans.
Nathan M. O. Hatcher.
There are certainly a lot of ways to make use of Facebook for Business. Do you want to learn more, see here for additional Facebook marketing tips and tricks.
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In the last issue of Facebook for Business we talked about how to create a page for your business on Facebook. In this issue we are going to talk about how Facebook can help you attract new customers.
As we have discussed before, it’s important to establish online presence through social media management sites particularly Facebook even if your company already has an official website.
Why is that, you mat ask? The answer is simple! That is because Facebook is more reachable and user friendly to other people compared to any business website. It gives a sense of friendliness to companies that would seem too corporate for prospects to check out or a sense of credibility to starting companies who have no website to speak of.
Aside from this, a Facebook page allows companies to be more interactive with present and potential customers, getting their feedback for everything from service to contest mechanics. While it may seem dangerous because you can be given both positive and negative feedbacks, companies should not be afraid because Facebook is a tool that can be easily moderated.
If you want to show only the best feedback on your Facebook wall and just hide the rest, you can do that. This way, your potential buyers will be able to get an idea about how your products or services have benefited others. Such feedback adds a touch of authenticity to the company, and will most likely entice the potential customer reading it.
In addition to that, customers who are fed up of the usual online marketing tactics such as newsletters and ads will most likely go to Facebook to have their concerns answered. With the ability of a Facebook page to reach millions of people around the globe, you will be able to expand your business.
When it comes to communicating with your customers, you are not limited to wall posts and status updates. You can also make use of the photos and notes feature. When using the Fanpage which is the recommended page for businesses (instead of the more personal profile page), you can change the posting ability of fans which allow them to post photos, videos and links to the page.
If done this way, your potential customers will be ale to perceive how your products or services are being used by your customers. Again, this can engage the community to be more interactive as was successfully executed by Pampers? Facebook Fanpage. There are also some companies like the well-known Ben and Jerry’s that go as far as using customer polling. If used the right way, this will provide customers a sense of power concerning the products, which as a result will give them a sense of acceptance and possession.
With Facebook, you can also feature promos, special discounts and sales for your products as in the case of rushIMPRINT, which uses their page for this purpose. The page easily leads back to the company’s official website as well as their contact details. Some even use Facebook to give exclusive deals to their customers.
If you’re implementing Facebook marketing, this is a very good way to determine whether your page is effective or not in attracting customers. You can use give-aways to your Facebook users who can’t be reached through other sites like your business website, email, and Twitter.
Other companies such as Baskin Robbins develop and use a Facebook application to make their Facebook page more interactive and enticing to customers. Through their account, they’re giving out a very enticing deal, a Buy One, get one promo that most enthusiasts will not surpass.
The key to an effective Facebook page is to use it with a sense of fun and a good level of interaction. You should also differentiate your company from the rest of the market. If used this way, you’ll quickly get a nice return for your simple work.
Keep watch for our next issue. You will learn more about setting up a Facebook Fan Page for your company.
You can get the traffic if you choose to use Facebook for Business. But if you want to learn more, go here to get more Facebook marketing strategies.
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